Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/7327672.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Harry_Potter_-_J._K._Rowling
  Relationship:
      Harry_Potter/Blaise_Zabini
  Character:
      Rita_Skeeter, Harry_Potter, Minerva_McGonagall, Blaise_Zabini
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-06-28 Updated: 2016-07-14 Chapters: 2/? Words: 13220
****** Investigative Wizard ******
by Rikaeus
Summary
     Rita Skeeter was by far what people would consider nice. Of course
     when she was young she had a different idea of the truth. It is with
     an anonymous source that she rediscovers her idea of truth and raises
     young Harry Potter. Follow Harry through his life as the son of Rita
     Skeeter and as he follows his dream of being an Investigative
     Reporter just like his mother. He'll make plenty of friends and will
     be well armed for his fight against Voldemort. Of course, what
     exactly caused Voldemort to turn out like that? This Investigative
     Wizard will find out.
Notes
     Alright as I said in my first chapter of Death’s Guardian I am still
     working on the new chapter of HCM however I’m having a writer’s block
     but not really. I know what to write but I like don’t know if it’s
     the right thing to write. So to focus some of my creative writing
     elsewhere in an attempt to get ideas for HCM I’m writing this new
     story. This is a good Rita Skeeter story who raises Harry. It will be
     slash as usual for Harry and there’s a rather huge chance that this
     will turn into a threesome. Also uh it’s going to be a Harry who’s
     curious about everything as he wants to follow his mother’s
     footsteps. Also this Rita Skeeter’s rather old, in fact she’s about
     McGonagall’s age. She grew up around Tom Riddle so she knows of him.
     Another thing this won’t exactly be Dumbledore bashing despite the
     harsh opinion Rita has of him. Dumbledore in this story has just had
     a long and difficult life trying to live up to the expectations of
     the Wizarding World and he is human so should be expected to make
     mistakes
See the end of the work for more notes
***** Revelations and the Truth *****
Rita Skeeter was by far the furthest from nice a person could be considered.
Now this was of no fault of her own but rather the fact that the Wizarding War
had jaded her. She had seen the corruption of the Wizarding World at its base
and believed foremost that the truth would never be accepted. So this led to
her exaggerating the truth and telling lies in order to protect herself. If a
younger Rita Skeeter was to look at her future self she’d be rather disgusted.
As a child Rita wanted to do nothing but fight for the truth and help people
live better lives. She would be horrified that her future self was doing the
complete opposite of that. Which brings us to our current problem. Rita Skeeter
was having a crisis of faith and conscious. You see this morning she had
received an anonymous tip about the location of one Harry Potter, the Wizarding
World’s prolific hero. Rita practically salivated at the thought of learning
about the life of the Savior. This article would make her fame soar, as nobody
had heard anything of the Savior since that fateful night that he vanquished
the Dark Lord. Of course according to the high and mighty Albus Dumbledore he
was safe but the tiny bit of honest journalistic investigator left in Rita knew
that had to be a lie. So she took the advice of the source and went to Private
Drive under the guise of her Animagus form, a beetle. This is where her crisis
of faith started.
The sight that met Rita Skeeter when she arrived at the location her source
gave to her was one that she did not expect. The Savior was a short scrawny,
malnourished six-year old boy. This set off dozens of alarms in her mind as
signs of abuse. Despite the fact that Rita had grown up in a nice family she
had a best friend who was a victim of abuse. The abuse got worse and worse
until she committed suicide. The death of her best friend devastated Rita so
much that it was what set Rita on her path to represent the truth. So seeing
clear signs of abuse in the Savior send waves of recognition in a mere second
through Rita. Instantly her career path flashed through her mind. Now Rita had
never really paid attention to the aftermath of her articles but she had
unconsciously noticed the ruins she left in her path. She was now remembering
how one article of hers had outed a male muggleborn who was in a relationship
with a male pureblood. Normally in their society homosexuality was not seen as
a problem as there were potions to solve the issue of not having kids. However,
the fact that the male pureblood was a respectful member of the House of Black
was what ruined it. She vaguely recalled an obituary of the male muggleborn not
two days after, having committed suicide. If she was in her human form her face
would have instantly paled and she would have vomited right away. Quickly she
flew to a secluded place and instantly transformed back, and curled up into a
ball. Suddenly her well-tuned barriers she had around her mind shattered and
more instances like the muggleborn incident flashed through her mind. How? How
could she have strayed so far from her path. She had vowed to herself to
champion the truth and help others. What she had done with her life had been
the complete opposite. She had ruined countless lives and I guess you could say
she was responsible for the fall of the House of Black, considering that the
male Pureblood was none other than Arcturus Black, the head of the House of
Black at the time. Suddenly she heard leaves crunch behind her and she turned,
seeing the Savior, no Harry Potter staring at her with concern in his eyes.
“Miss? Are you okay?” Harry said.
“I-I’m fine little one. I, just realized how bad I’ve been.” Rita said, her
voice thick with emotional pain.
Now, Harry Potter was always sensitive to people’s emotions. You had to be such
when you grew around people like the Dursleys. It was with that emotional
sensitivity that he walked up to the woman and gave her a hug. In an instant
Rita Skeeter’s emotional barriers fell and she broke down. She didn’t know for
how long that she cried for but when she finished she readjusted her glasses
and looked at the young boy.
“You okay now miss?” Harry asked.
“Yes young one.” She said before getting an idea.
“Harry, how would you like to leave your relatives?” Rita asked.
Instantly Harry was shocked, because how could this woman possibly know his
name? He had never seen her before so there was possibly a chance he met her
when he was a baby.
“How do you know my name Miss?” Harry asked.
“Where I am from everybody knows your name little one. You’re pretty famous
actually. In fact, would you like to hear a story?” Rita asked.
Harry nodded eagerly, never really being told a story. So with that Rita began
to spun the first truthful story she had spun in a long time. She told him the
story of magic and a boy named Tom Marvolo Riddle. A boy who seemed to be very
bitter to the world and didn’t have many friends. She told him of how Tom
slowly evolved into rather bad person, named Lord Voldemort. How Lord Voldemort
waged war on the Wizarding World in retaliation for the pain that he had
experienced. She then told him the story of James Charlus Potter and Lily Marie
Evans. Two complete polar opposites of each other. How James Potter was a
prankster whose pranks had tormented other people. How Lily Evans grew up not
knowing of magic until her first best friend, Severus Snape, told her of it.
How James Potter fell in love with Lily the day that they met and how Lily
vehemently rejected him. How James made lifelong friends with three other boys;
Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. Going forward, how in fifth
year one prank by James Potter ruined eight years of friendship in one
shattering second. How Severus Snape regretted what he said to Lily Evans but
felt that she would never forgive him even though she had already did. She told
them of how James Potter proposed to Lily Evans the day they graduated. She
then told him of how one Harry James Potter was born to two very happy parents
but ended up swept into the war that Lord Voldemort razed. How Lily and James
went into hiding with little Harry after finding out Voldemort was after their
child. How Sirius Black had allegedly betrayed them and gave their location to
Voldemort. Lastly she told him of how one little boy, Harry, managed to defeat
the powerful Lord Voldemort by simply surviving a curse that nobody had ever
survived before, telling him she expected it had to do with his mother, a
genius in her own right.
When she was done young Harry was staring at her in awe and adoration, stirring
something that she hadn’t felt in a long time.
“But why did Tom turn out that way? Did nobody try to help him?” Harry asked.
That question made Rita think. She thought of the years at Hogwarts were she
was a fellow student alongside Tom and realized that nobody attempted to help
him. In fact, Dumbledore, the Transfiguration teacher at the time, seemed
pretty antagonistic to him
“Sadly little one nobody did.” Rita said.
“So, am I that Harry? I mean I can’t possibly be, I’m just Harry.” Harry said.
“You are in fact that Harry. The proof is your scar on your forehead. That’s
where the curse hit you.” Rita said.
“Oh.” Harry said matter of fact.
“So, what do you think little one? Do you want to leave this place? I must
admit that doing so would require me to reveal your abuse to the Wizarding
World. Are you alright with that?” Rita asked.
“I’m alright with that Miss. As long as it gets me away from here. But uh what
am I to call you miss?” Harry asked.
“I’m Rita Skeeter but after this it’s more than likely going to be mom.” Rita
said.
A Personal Revelation and Truths Revealed
By Rita Skeeter
I am sure by now most of you, my readers, now that my stories tend to be very
big and extravagant. However, some of you tell you that I exaggerate the truth
and sometimes and even lie. I am very sorry to say but that is the truth my
readers. Over the past fifty to sixty years that I have been your source of
news I have exaggerated and even lied about the many things I have printed. I
have ruined countless lives through this and I myself believe that I am no
better than Voldemort. In fact, I believe I am worse because at least
Voldemort’s deeds were physical. I apologize to the countless people I have
hurt with my articles and from now on I vow on my magic and blood to tell
nothing but the truth in my articles. Now, what I have to say in this article
will rock the foundations of Magical Britain for years to come but it must be
said. This morning I told a little child a story that I must share with you. A
long time ago back in 1938 I had begun my education at Hogwarts. However, I
wasn’t the only one who had done so as well. In fact, there was a rarity that
year, a muggleborn had been sorted into Slytherin, at least at the time he was
believed to be so. That boy was named Tom Marvolo Riddle. Now many of you may
not recognize that name but soon you will. That young boy was bitter to the
world, for reasons I’m not entirely sure. Not one person in the entirety of the
school tried to help ease that bitterness. Sure he had people he could talk to
but he did not treat them as friends, but rather as followers. As time passed
the boy grew even more bitter to the world. Soon we graduated and parted ways.
Not twenty years later the name Lord Voldemort had popped up. It was then that
I as a relatively unknown reporter investigated. The information I had found
perplexed me because it pointed towards Tom. It was actually during a random
bout of boredom that I found the truth by rearranging Tom’s name. It turns out
that rearranged Tom Marvolo Riddle changes to I am Lord Voldemort. Now I could
have shared this information with the world but it was around that time that I
had grew a bit jaded. I decided to keep this information to myself. Years
passed by and we come to the birth of Harry James Potter, our Savior. And soon
after that the vanquishing of Lord Voldemort. It was again that my curiosity
was peaked and I began to investigate the past of Lily Evans nee Potter and
James Potter. I had found out a lot on the two but nothing to really tell me
why or how young Harry survived the curse, although I had believed it had to be
something on Mrs. Potter’s part as all signs pointed to her being a practical
genius. So with that I drew my attention away. That is until now. This morning
an anonymous source had tipped me off to the location of one Harry James
Potter. So immediately I headed off to where the location was. What met me
there immediately brought back memories that I had locked away ever since I was
young. When I got there I saw that Mr. Potter was severely abused. In fact,
after getting permission from the little one to examine him, which if I might
add he knew nothing of magic, I had found out that he had broken almost every
single one of his bones at least once. Of course he had no outwardly scarring
which was probably done to prevent others from noticing. What does it tell us
readers when Albus Dumbledore had told us Mr. Potter was safe but in truth he
wasn’t at all? Can we really trust the Supreme Mugwump with our Savior, no
Harry’s wellbeing? We are very lucky that he hadn’t started to turn out like
one Tom Marvolo Riddle. We are lucky that he is still quite a happy little
child who is curious about the world around him. That is why I have vowed to
little Harry that I will be the one to take care of him from here. By the time
the public gets this article I will have adopted one Harry James Potter as
Harry James Potter-Skeeter. Do with that information what ye will but I will be
playing hide and seek with my new six-year old child. This writer will turn her
venomous quill on anyone who dares harm her new child, and that is not a threat
but an assurance.
Rita had a rather hard time getting the article published through her Editor
because of what it had in it. Thankfully Rita owned eighty percent of the
shares of the Daily Prophet so she was able to force Barnaby into publishing
it. After that she got an advanced copy to the Minister, who was eager to
expedite her adoption request because he knew it would ruffle Dumbledore’s
feathers. While she was doing all this she was having an old friend babysit
young Harry, one Minerva McGonagall. Rita’s friendship with Minerva was an odd
one to say mostly because they were a Slytherin and a Gryffindor. Even back in
her day the two houses fought like cats and dogs but Minerva and Rita seemed to
strike up a friendship despite that. However as Rita became jaded they slowly
drifted apart. So it was safe to say that Minerva was rather shocked when Rita
had shown up on her doorstep with Harry and an advanced copy of the Daily
Prophet. She was enraged when she read the article and quickly agreed to watch
over Harry. When Rita left to see the Minister Minerva gave her a passing
remark with a smile.
“You’ve changed Rita, quite for the better.” Minerva said.
That one sentence gave Rita hope so she rushed to the Minister. After the
business with the Minister she had other things to do, that is she had to get
some stuff for young Harry. Having been given his measurements when she
examined him she got him new sets of clothes so she could gleefully burn the
rags that he was given by his relatives. Along with that she got him some
magical books to read as young Harry had told her that he loved to read.
Afterwards she stopped at Gringotts to update her will and her family tree. To
her surprise her family tree had magically updated to include Harry on it. So
it was safe to say that magic approved of the adoption. With all that done for
now she headed to Minerva’s to pick up Harry
The years passed by rather quickly but weren’t a blur to Rita. When the article
had gotten out Magical Britain was practically thrown into chaos. A lot were
calling for Dumbledore’s head but personally she figured it was best if
Dumbledore stayed as it was better the evil you know than the evil you don’t.
It was with that belief that she made it so that Dumbledore was only stripped
of his title as Supreme Mugwump and kept his seat as Chief of the Wizegamot. Of
course she forced Dumbledore to have the Dursleys tried in magical court which
led to them being sentenced to Azkaban for life and Dudley was forced to live
with his aunt. Minerva of course visited often, becoming Aunt Minny to little
Harry. It was around eight or nine that Harry made his first best friend in one
Blaise Zabini. Rita knew of Blaise’s mother, Aeana Zabini. She was known to
have married six times in the past seven years and was rumored to have killed
her husbands but Rita knew the truth. Aeana was cursed to have her significant
other die shortly after marriage. Each and every one of those men and women
that Aeana had married had loved her deeply and were willing to die for her. By
now though Aeana had given up and was now completely focused on her child.
Harry and Blaise were quite adorable together and Rita could swear that despite
his age Harry was absolutely smitten with Blaise. She guessed the whole Potter
First Love rumor was true, that all Potters fall in love with the one at first
sight. That would explain James’ determination to date Lily Evans. She figured
she wait until Harry was twelve or thirteen to tell him the truth of his
feelings. Twas better to let the friendship develop more before it became a
relationship. Of course she had a rather hard time convincing Minerva and Aeana
against planning their wedding this early. She’d much rather allow Harry and
Blaise to plan it on their own than their parents and aunt. She was told it was
a better experience that way. Another interesting development was when six
months after adopting Harry he declared he was going to follow in her
footsteps. At first Rita thought it was a phase but Harry was very adamant
about it. So on his seventh birthday she gifted him his own enchanted notepad
and quill. Of course this one wasn’t a Quick Notes quill, something she had
ditched immediately after adopting Harry, but a Full Dictation quill. It would
fully write what it heard rather than an abridged version and the pad just like
hers would float right beside Harry when it was active. Rita found it rather
adorable when Harry demanded an interview with Blaise who reluctantly agreed.
Soon enough the time came for Harry to head to Hogwarts. Aeana was on Wizegamot
business so she asked her to take Blaise with them to Diagon Alley so with that
Blaise came along. The trip wasn’t that exciting except for the where they
found out that Harry’s wand was the brother wand of Tom’s. Quickly after a
month passed and it was time for Harry to go to Hogwarts.
An eleven year Harry Potter-Skeeter was rather ecstatic about today. Why? Well
it was because he was getting to go to Hogwarts. He wondered what stories he
would write there and if any of them would be noteworthy like his mother’s.
Over the five years that he’s been her son her reputation had turned around
completely. No longer did she exaggerate the truth rather she told it as it
was. This actually had the opposite effect of what his mother had expected as
it made her thousands of times more popular and even now internationally read.
“Harry! Are you up? We have to leave in ten minutes!” His mother shouted from
the other side of the door.
“Yes mom! I was checking to see if I had my spare notepad and quill!” Harry
replied after tying his shoulder-length black hair into a ponytail.
“You do realize that even if you forgot it you could send Hedwig to pick it up
for you right?” His mother replied.
She was referring to his snowy owl that he got from Diagon Alley. Hedwig was
the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen, and very protective of him as well.
“Yeah but like you said, it’s best to always be prepared on the moment rather
than be unprepared.” Harry said before closing his suitcase and shrinking his
main notepad and putting it in his pocket with his main quill.
With that he grabbed his suitcase and headed out to meet with his mother. From
there they apparated to platform nine and three quarters where they met up with
Blaise and his mother.
“Hey Blaise! You ready for this year?” Harry asked excitedly.
“Absolutely Harry, can’t wait till we get sorted.” The other boy said just as
eagerly as the other.
The two adults chuckled at them before turning to speak to them.
“You two might want to hurry before we get surrounded by your mother’s adoring
fans.” Aeana said
“Honestly, if I had realized how annoying fame was when I was younger I would
have kept my name anonymous or used a pen name.” Rita said with a roll of her
eyes, causing Harry to chuckle.
“Laugh it up mister but you have your own kind of fame so you might want to
hurry as well.” Rita said.
Harry nodded quickly and dragged Blaise along with him into the train. They
quickly found an empty compartment where they settled in. Harry then quickly
brought out his quill and notepad and activated its enchantments. Normally it
would then start writing anything that was spoken or seen but Harry had his
mother enchant his quill with her custom spell that made the quill require a
command to start writing.
“Honestly Harry people are going to find you weird with that thing floating
alongside you.” Blaise said, shaking his head.
“So? A good investigative reporter always has his or her pen ready. Besides I
asked mom if I could get an article published in the Daily Prophet. She agreed
but said that she got to select the topic.” Harry said.
“Really? What was the topic?” Blaise asked.
“She basically said that I had to interview various students to get their
opinions of the teachers or the magical world. She said that the parents would
probably appreciate it since they don’t really know what’s going on nowadays.”
Harry said.
The conversation devolved from that into a game of Exploding Snaps. About ten
minutes later the compartment door opened to reveal a bushy haired girl.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was looking for a place to sit.” The girl said.
“Oh no, it’s fine. You can sit here if you want. It’s not like anyone else is
coming.” Harry said with Blaise nodding.
The girl thanked them before putting her luggage up in the rack and then sat by
the window. Harry gave the girl a look before realizing something.
“You’re a muggleborn aren’t you?” Harry asked, shocking the girl.
“Yes, how did you know that?” She asked.
“Well to be blunt your appearance, mostly your hair.” Harry said, causing the
girl to instantly reach for her hair.
“What’s wrong with it.” She said, sounding offended.
“Nothing! It’s just most people who know magic from birth would have
straightened their hair by now with magic since the spells for unknotting hair
are rather unpleasant.” Harry said.
“Oh. Are they really that unpleasant?” the girl asked, intellectual curiosity
showing in her eyes.
“Oh boy are they. It feels like it’s trying to rip your hair out. When I was
young I had really messy hair that knotted really bad. Thankfully my mom
straightened my hair afterwards.” Harry said.
“It did make your hair look a hell of a lot better. Before it looked like a
rat’s nest.” Blaise commented causing Harry to glare.
“What! It did!” Blaise protested.
This caused the girl to laugh at the both of them, causing the glare from Harry
to dissolve. Suddenly after Harry got an idea.
“Hey! Would you mind if I interviewed you?” Harry asked.
The girl immediately looked confused and turned to Blaise for help. The look on
Blaise’s face practically told her to go with it.
“Alright I guess it couldn’t hurt.” The girl said.
“Yes! Interview start!” Harry said, and instantly the pad and quill floating by
him glowed green.
It was actually around then that the girl actually noticed the quill and pad.
“Harry Potter-Skeeter here sitting down with one..” Harry said, giving a look
to the girl.
“Hermione Jane Granger” the now dubbed Hermione said automatically.
“Ah, Hermione. Shakespeare?” Harry asked.
“Yeah, my parents were big Shakespeare fans.” She said offhandedly.
“Neat. Anyway onwards we go. So, I’m sitting here with one Hermione Jane
Grange, a new muggleborn student on her way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry. So, Hermione what was it like when you discovered magic?” Harry
asked.
“It was pretty amazing actually. Ever since I was young I knew I was different
from the occasional book that seemed to float down to me when I really wanted
it or when I was unharmed from falling out of a tree. When Professor McGonagall
confirmed it I was ecstatic.” Hermione said.
“Books? Sounds like we have a promising Ravenclaw here. So you’ve met my Aunt
Minny then. What did you think of her?” Harry asked.
“Well, she seemed strict but her tone had an underlying warmth to it. She’s
someone I definitely wouldn’t mind teaching me.” Hermione said.
“That’s Aunt Minny for you. So, what did you think of your first trip to Diagon
Alley?” Harry asked.
“It was absolutely amazing. All the magic being used openly was so stunning! I
wanted to stay so much that my parents had to drag me out of the place.”
Hermione said, Harry chuckling at that.
“That’s usually any person’s first reaction. So, what do you expect to get out
of being in the Wizarding World?” Harry asked.
“I’m hoping to be able to join a community where I will make many life-long
friends. Growing up I didn’t have many friends because of my intelligence.”
Hermione said
“Once again, another Ravenclaw trait.” Harry said with a laugh before
continuing.
“Well, wrapping this up it’s safe to say you’ve found your first friend Miss
Granger. Thanks for the interview.” Harry said.
“Thanks for interviewing me.” Hermione said with a smile.
“Interview end.” Harry said, causing the quill to glow red and stop writing.
The pad then floated down into Harry’s hands and he looked over the transcript.
He gave it a few look overs before giving it a nod of approval, which prompted
the pad to float back up into the air.
“May I ask what that is?” Hermione asked.
“I don’t mind. It’s an enchanted pad and Dictation Quill. The pad follows me
around as well as the Dictation Quill. Basically the quill writes down what it
hears and sees during the interview but only of me and the person or people I’m
interviewing. Normally however the Dictation Quill is used for note taking and
writes everything down but my mom enchanted it to be specific.” Harry said.
“So who is your mom?” Hermione asked.
“She’s Rita Skeeter, a rather famous reporter for the Daily Prophet, Britain’s
Magical newspaper. She’s loved both nationally and internationally because she
only reports the truth.” Harry said, brimming with pride about his mother.
“She actually used to be quite different about five years ago. But Harry here
changed that.” Blaise said, causing Harry to blush at the unintended praise.
Hermione, not sure what to say just nodded and later joined them in a game of
Exploding Snaps. About ten minutes later the train started moving, signifying
that they were on their way to Hogwarts. They decided to take a break from
their game of Exploding Snaps and read some of their course books, wanting to
get ahead of the curriculum. About three hours into the ride a pompous blonde
haired boy barged into their compartment.
“Harry Potter’s on the train. Since this is the last compartment I’ve checked
you must be him.” The boy said.
Indiscreetly Harry had his notepad switch to a blank page and start writing.
“Yes I am and you?” Harry asked.
“You must know who I am? Draco Malfoy? Scion of the Malfoy House.” The now
identified Draco said.
“That should mean something to me?” Harry asked, causing Draco’s cheeks to
tinge pink in anger.
“Why yes it should. I’m offering to be your friend to help you avoid being part
of the wrong crowd like that mudblood over there.” Draco said, causing Blaise
to gasp and Harry’s eyes to narrow.
Harry had known very well who this person was but he wanted to confirm a few
rumors. Apparently Draco was rumored to be very unlike his father who was a lot
subtler and less offensive in public. Lo and behold the rumors were very true.
Harry wondered what Lucius Malfoy would think of his son acting like this.
“Well, I’m assuming you know who my mother is?” Harry asked causing Draco to
sneer.
“Yes, a mudblood as well.” Draco said causing part of the window to crack.
“My biological mother yes. But my adoptive mother is Rita Skeeter.” Harry said,
causing Draco to pale and rush out of the compartment.
“What was that about? It seemed to get tenser when the word Mudblood was
mentioned.” Hermione said.
“Mudblood is a derogatory term for muggleborns. He’s practically saying your
blood is dirt to him. Some purebloods think this as well but they do not say
the word mudblood knowing it is political suicide to do so.” Blaise said.
“Then why was Draco saying it?” Hermione asked.
“Because he’s completely different from his father of whom I am going to inform
of this.” Harry said, carefully removing the page with Draco’s words on it,
having turned off the quill as soon as Draco left.
“Do you even know where his father lives?” Hermione asked.
“Kinda. I’ve been to a few events held by him as a tag-along with my mother.
But that doesn’t matter cause I have Hedwig.” Harry said.
“Hedwig?” Hermione asked.
“Yeah, Harry’s owl. She’s actually really bright. Just tell her who the letter
is for and she’ll find them no problem. It doesn’t help that Harry spoils her.”
Blaise said.
“Blaise! Is that jealousy I hear? Are you jealous of an owl?” Harry said in
mock shock, causing Blaise’s face to tinge pink in embarrassment.
“I am not jealous of an owl!” Blaise said.
“It’s okay Blaise. I’ll spoil you this winter.” Harry said in a baby voice.
Blaise’s response was to harrumph and turn away from Harry to face the window.
Hermione’s response however was to break out into a peal of laughter. The rest
of the ride wasn’t that different besides them gaining another friend in one
Neville Longbottom. Harry managed to convince Neville to let him interview him
but he was shocked to hear a few things. For one, apparently it was very clear
that his uncle abused him. That made Harry remember his own Uncle. The second
thing was that his grandmother dotted on him a lot but she held a rather fixed
view of the child. Apparently she expected him to grow up and be just like his
father to the point that he was given his father’s wand. Which if he recalled
from Ollivander was a really, really bad thing. Wands choose the wizard; this
wasn’t a saying that Ollivander said to mystify the wizard. Wands get very
temperamental when they are used by a wizard who is not a fit for them.
Thankfully by Neville’s tales of attempts at magic it was apparent that this
wand very reluctantly worked for him. This signified that part of the wand fit
Neville and due to the extreme reluctance it was probably the core. Now how did
Harry learn of this? Well, when he was younger he was interested in Wand Lore
and had his mother purchase a book from Mister Ollivander. It was all
interesting but not a profession he wanted to go into as it took ages of
practice. After Harry finished the interview he turned to Neville.
“Neville, you need a new wand.” Harry said.
“Wha-“ Neville started.
“Your wand is very, very reluctant to work with you. Wands choose the wizard
Neville not the other way around. Please promise me when you get to Hogwarts
you’ll tell your head of house about this?” Harry asked.
“Fine, I guess. But Gram’s going to be mad. She wanted me to use my father’s
wand.” Neville said, looking glum.
“Just tell her that you’ll never be her son. It is impossible for one person to
be another. Sure you can invent another person and be that but you can’t
completely be someone else.” Harry said.
Neville nodded with a confidence he didn’t have before which made Harry smile.
Right after that another person came in. She had almost neon purple hair and
eyes that matched that. She looked to be a Seventh year.
“Hey look little firsties! Can I please crash in here? The boys are going crazy
over me.” The woman asked.
“Uh, sure.” Harry said.
At first it looked like she wasn’t going to fit in the last spot open on either
side but she shrunk her body down to fit, causing all of them to stare in
shock.
“You’re a Metamorphmagus aren’t you?” Harry asked
“A Metamorph-whatsit?” Hermione asked.
“A Metamorphmagus it means I can change my appearance at will.” The woman said,
now looking like a third year.
It was with that, that Harry begged her to let him interview her. By his
attitude the woman deduced that he was Harry Potter-Skeeter and commented that
only a Skeeter would beg to interview someone. She agreed with a giant smile
and they began the interview. The first thing that Harry asked her was her
name. She told him it was Nymphadora Tonks, but begged to call her Tonks as she
despised her first name. He then asked her what it felt like to be a
Metamorphmagus.
“It can actually feel pretty weird at times. When you change your looks and
body structure it feels like your body reverts to putty before reforming. Of
course being a Metamorphmagus has a downside. Because your body is constantly
shifting its molecules you end up extremely clumsy. I can’t tell you how many
times I’ve tripped on practically nothing.” Tonks said.
Then Harry asked her about her professors which she liked and which she didn’t.
“Personally my favorite has to be Pamona Sprout. But that’s probably because
I’m a Hufflepuff. She’s really nice and if her students just need a shoulder to
cry on she’s always there. My least has to be Snape. He’s biased to anyone but
his Slytherins. But then again he’s the Potions teacher and potions require
intense watch or something terrible could go wrong or so my mother says. Also
it doesn’t help that people treat the Slytherins rather horribly.” Tonks said.
Well Harry figured he should file that away for later. Especially if he ends up
in his mother’s old house. Harry asked her a few other questions like what
friends she has or what her favorite subject is before asking the last
question; what does she want to do when she graduates.
“I wanna be an Auror. Despite the fact that I’m clumsy I think it’d be great to
be one. Just think about it, helping people wherever you can and fighting bad
wizards. It seems rather cool. Of course my mother wanted me to be a Healer
like her but I just don’t have the aptitude for Medical Magic like I do for
Defense Magic.” Tonks said.
Harry then stopped the quill and saw that they were nearing Hogsmeade so he put
away his Quill and Pad. An announcement came telling them to leave their stuff
on the train as it’ll be brought up on its own. With that they all threw on
their robes, not bothering to change the clothes under and headed out. When
they got out Tonks waved goodbye and headed off to the carriages with her other
friends. Harry, Hermione, Blaise, and Neville were called over by a man that
looked like a half-giant. They were then herded into a boat which then started
moving on its own. Soon after that they reached some sort of docks under the
castle where Harry spotted Aunt Minny waiting for them. Of course he guessed
here that she’d want him to call her Professor McGonagall in public. The
professor instructed them that they were to wait out here for a few minutes
before they were called in to be sorted. That caused a murmur of conversations
to pop up, wondering what the sorting process was. Harry and Blaise knew it was
nothing dangerous as their mothers told them that much. When they were brought
into the Great Hall Harry was awed by the enchanted ceiling. He then directed
his attention to the stool at the center of the room. On top of it was a hat
and right after noticing that the hat began to sing. After it was done Harry
was rather shocked. They were to be sorted by a hat after all. One by one they
were called up by their names. Hannah Abbot was the first one and she was
sorted into Hufflepuff. McGonagall went down the list and soon hit Hermione’s
who was sorted into Ravenclaw. When it hit Neville’s he was sorted into
Hufflepuff. Soon enough it was Harry’s turn.
“Is that him?”
“The one with the floating notepad and quill?”
Floating notepad and quill? Oh wait, he had activated the enchantments sometime
after getting into the Great Hall.
“I would die for that hair it looks so nice.” Was one voice that made Harry
blush beet red.
Soon Harry reached the sorting hat and he put it on.
Hmmm what do we have here? Such an inquisitive mind here.
‘Are you the hat?’ Harry thought.
Why yes I am. And before you ask I would love an interview. Not many people
like to get my opinion nowadays.
‘Awesome!’ Harry thought.
I can see you’re also rather ambitious. Of course one would have to be after
being raised by Rita Skeeter. You know you remind me of both of your mothers
when they were young. Lily was so inquisitive and curious about the world
around her and Rita wanted to champion the truth and succeed. So where to put
you? Definitely not Gryffindor. While you are very brave you like to think
before you jump and that wouldn’t do well in the House of Lions. Not
Hufflepuff, had it been five years ago then it would be a sure fire thing as
they would have accepted you as one of their own and coddled you. Better it be…
“Slytherin!” The hat shouted.
The Hall wasn’t surprised to say the least when they consider who Harry’s
adoptive mother was. So with that the Slytherin table broke into a cacophony of
cheers and gladly welcomed Harry into their fold. One in particular, a Pansy
Parkinson, dragged him to the seat right next to her. Now Harry had brief
meetings with Pansy at the various events that his mother dragged him to saying
and he quotes ‘I am not suffering alone kid.’. Pansy was a rather nice girl,
always caring about others and didn’t mind speaking her mind so Harry didn’t
really mind her.
“Hey there Harry! Welcome to the house of snakes.” Pansy said before noticing
Draco sneering at Harry.
Harry immediately intervened because knowing Pansy she would sock Draco in the
face.
“Let him be Pansy. I have a little something for his father that will make
everything better.” Harry said.
“You didn’t.” Pansy said, knowing very well of Harry’s tendency to take notes
of everything.
“I did.” Harry said with a smile.
Right after that the last person, which so happened to be Blaise, was sorted
into Slytherin. Blaise plopped a seat right next to Harry and gave a friendly
smile to Pansy.
“So anything happen over the Summer Pans?” Blaise asked.
Blaise had known Pansy a bit more than Harry but that was only because one of
his mother’s previous spouses was Pansy’s aunt so they were cousins-in-law.
“Nothing really. Though Harry I got to say your mother’s article on Dolores
Umbridge was absolutely brilliant.” Pansy said with her rare vicious smile that
she used when someone she hated got their just desserts.
Dolores Umbridge used to be the Undersecretary of the Minister but the Minister
had suspected her doing something foul behind the scenes and asked Harry’s
mother to investigate. Lo and behold Rita had found out that Dolores was using
Blood Quills, a forbidden and illegal artifact only useable on consenting
parties when forming a contract that was overseen by Goblins, on her employees.
Yes, despite the fact that Magical Britain seems to dislike magical creatures
they have a close relationship with Goblins. I mean you wouldn’t want to be
untrusting of people who handle your money. On top of that Dolores was
siphoning money away from the Ministry funds which explained the cuts in the
DMLE, or the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. All that got her life in
Azkaban and she was immediately replaced by Pansy’s mother, Arturia Parkinson,
Dolores’ former secretary who was repeatedly subjected to Blood Quills. This
was the reason that Pansy despised Dolores Umbridge.
“All in the day’s work of the Justice Reporter.” Blaise joked, causing Harry to
groan.
“Ugh, me and my mother hate that nickname.” Harry said.
After Rita had turned over a new leaf and proved that she only wanted the
truth, the public gave her that name and the name irritated Rita only because
it made her immensely more popular to the point people wanted her autograph.
After the feast finished they were led by their two prefects to the dungeons
where they met with a brick wall that had a snake carving on it.
“This is the entrance to the Slytherin Common room. The password as of now is
Hierophant.” The female prefect, Tanya Callahan said, the snake separating the
walls causing an entrance to form.
When they were led in they were met with Professor Snape as well as the current
Head Girl, Ophelia Capulet. After everyone was in and the door closed Ophelia
took a step forward.
“As your prefects must have told you I am Ophelia Capulet, current Head Girl. I
am here to welcome you to Slytherin, the House of Snakes. Now, most of you
while being here may be subjected to discrimination, although not as severe as
four years ago thanks to one of our alumni.” Ophelia said before looking at
Harry when saying alumni.
“But as I was saying. This is Slytherin and Slytherin for the next seven years
will be your family. If you have disputes with your fellow housemates bring it
up to either me or Professor Snape. But do not, I REPEAT do not act out your
dispute out in public. Slytherin must show a front of unity in the face of
everyone else. If you do get into a fight with a fellow house mate in public I
will let you know Professor Snape will not hesitate to punish you.” Ophelia
said before taking a step back.
Professor Snape stepped forward and produced a stack of papers before handing
them out.
“These are your class schedules.” Snape started with a drawl before continuing.
“I expect you all to be on time to all of your classes including most of all
mine or I will be…. Displeased.” Snape said.
“Breakfast starts at six o’clock and ends at eight. Lunch starts at eleven and
ends at twelve and dinner starts at seven and ends at nine. Curfew is at nine
thirty for first years through fourth and I expect you to be in bed by no later
than eleven. If you have any problems, please let me know and I will do my best
to take care of it unless it is a simple problem that even a Gryffindor can
solve.” Snape said, sneering at the word Gryffindor.
Right after that Snape turned and headed to his office which seemed to be
inside the Slytherin Common room. The prefects then split the first years up
into male and female and led them to their respective dorms. There they all
settled in and got ready for bed. Before Harry went to sleep however he wrote a
letter to Lucius Malfoy.
Dear Lord Malfoy,
I am writing to inform you of an altercation I had with your son today on the
Hogwarts Express. The actions your son had committed are unbefitting, as you
will agree, of the heir of House Malfoy. As I have been sorted into your son’s
House I would like this situation rectified as soon as possible if you so
kindly will as I do not want to besmirch the name of House Slytherin, House
Potter, or even House Malfoy. With this letter I have enclosed a copy
transcript of the altercation today and wish for you to look over it. As you
know my mother is Rita Skeeter and she has asked me to interview various
students and ask what they think of the wizarding world and the teachers at
Hogwarts. I would dislike to have to accidentally slip the real transcript into
the stack of papers I give my mother this December. Now even if I did I would
let her know that it is of no fault of yours but I would not wish to
effectively ruin young Draco’s standing. Please get back to me at the earliest
you can.
Sincerely,
Harry James Potter-Skeeter
Heir Skeeter
Heir Potter
With the end of that he opened the window only window in the room that led to
outside and Hedwig flew in. He then handed her the letter and told her to
deliver it to Lucius Malfoy. After she set off Harry settled into bed and
slowly drifted off to sleep.
***** Blood is Magic *****
Chapter Notes
     So, normally this would be longer but I decided to stop it at like
     5,500 I'll try to make the next longer. Also I am working on another
     story as well. This, the Charmed story, and that one will have the
     majority of my attention. Harry Cora Mills kinda does but I need to
     find someone I can bounce ideas off of because my motivation is
     running stagnant on that story. Enjoy the chapter
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Harry’s first night in the Slytherin common room was an odd one. He had a
rather difficult time getting sleep but that was probably attributed to the
fact that Blaise wasn’t sleeping in the bed with him. Blaise and his mother had
practically moved in with Rita and Harry and the day that they did this was the
night that Harry had a rather particularly bad nightmare. That’s what started
Blaise and Harry sleeping together. However, Harry figured that he had to get
used to this so reluctantly he attempted to doze off. Thankfully however Harry
managed to get up at his usual early time, about seven o’clock. He remembered
the prefects offhandedly saying that breakfast started at seven thirty so he
had a little bit to get ready. When he got down to the common room he saw that
Ophelia was already up. When she saw him she gave him a smile.
“Hey there little snake! You’re up awfully early.” She said.
“Yeah, I usually had to get up this early so my mum could take me to Aunt
Minnie’s.” He said.
“Minnie as in Professor McGonagall?” Ophelia asked, shocked.
“Mhm, she and my mom were best friends when they were in Hogwarts.” Harry said.
“B-but she’s so strict!” Ophelia said.
“Yeah but not when she’s with family. She says she has to be strict at school
or someone might get hurt.” Harry said.
“I guess I can understand that. Well I better get going. The Head Girl and Head
Boy have to meet up with the professors before breakfast to discuss some
things.” Ophelia said before heading out.
Soon enough it was seven thirty and Blaise finally came down.
“Ugh I had a hard time getting to sleep without you there Harry.” Blaise said,
yawning.
“Yeah tell me about it, looks like you had a harder time getting up without me
there to shake you awake.” Harry said snickering when Blaise sent him a glare.
It appeared that Pansy woke up at the same time as Blaise as she came down soon
after and the three headed up to breakfast. When they entered the Great Hall it
seemed not many people were there, although that was to be expected when you
consider how early it was. One of the people who was already down there was
Hermione so Harry waved her over to sit down by them.
“Hey Hermione! How was your first night.” Harry asked.
“I dunno some of the older students seemed to avoid me I don’t know why.” She
said.
“It might have to do with the fact that you’re a muggleborn.” Pansy said.
“Oh yeah, Hermione. This is Pansy Parkinson she’s a friend of ours.” Harry
said, prompting the two to shake hands.
“Anyways personally I’ve always thought the term muggleborn was bull crap.
Magic just doesn’t come out of nowhere. I believe that all muggleborns are
simply from a long line of squibs.” Harry said.
“Here we go again.” Blaise groaned.
“Hey! You believed me Blaise so don’t you complain.” Harry said, glaring at
him.
“But how would we even go about proving that? I mean we’re only, what? Eleven?”
Hermione asked.
“Well you could use the familia revelare potion. It’s a relatively easy
potion.” Pansy said, knowing about the potion since most Purebloods use it.
“Yeah but we’d need a lot of it for a nice sample size. How many muggleborn are
there in Hogwarts?” Harry said.
“About fifty Mr. Potter-Skeeter.” An elderly voice said behind them.
They turned around and saw Professor Dumbledore, the man who stuck Harry with
the Dursleys. Of course Harry was going to be neutral to the man because Aunt
Minnie told him to at least give him a chance, as she was an avid follower of
giving people second chances.
“Thank you Professor.” Harry said.
“If you four want, you could ask Professor Snape to help. Considering that
three out of the four of you are Slytherins he should give you no problem with
it. Also if you want I can give messages asking the muggleborn students to come
see you for the potions.” Dumbledore offered.
“That’d be great!” Hermione said eagerly.
After that Dumbledore headed back to the Head Table and breakfast soon got
started. Professor Snape gave out their schedules but when he got to Harry he
stopped for a second before continuing. The four looked at their schedules and
began planning for when to approach Snape.
“We all have Double Potions on Friday just before two hours of free time. We
could approach him after class?” Pansy offered.
“True, alright then Friday it is.” Harry said.
Right after that owls flew into the Great Hall and one landed in front of Harry
with a fancy letter that was sealed with the Malfoy wax seal.
“Harry why do you have a letter from Lucius Malfoy?” Pansy asked.
“Because I may have sent him a letter on the atrocious behavior of his son?”
Harry said innocently.
Harry then opened the letter and began to read
Dear Heir of Potter and Skeeter,
I am grateful that you have alerted me to the situation with my heir and son,
Draco. I am appalled by his actions and have swiftly reprimanded him, well that
is to say my wife did. She always did have the easier of times with scolding
Draco. I assure you that none of this will happen again. In other words, I do
hope you enjoy your first year at Hogwarts.
Sincerely,
Lord Lucius Malfoy
Harry glanced over at Draco and saw him reading a letter and his face turning
beet red. He chuckled inwardly as it would not do well to antagonize him any
further.
“What happened?” Pansy asked.
“Draco got scolded by his mother.” Harry said.
“Ah, Mrs. Malfoy always had a way with words.” Blaise said.
“Well she is of Black blood.” Harry commented.
It was really well known in the magical community of the tempers of the female
Blacks. However, because Hermione wasn’t raised in such community she had a
confused look on her face. Thankfully for her sake Pansy explained for her.
From there they continued their breakfast and had a nice random conversation
that wasn’t really focused on any topic. During said conversation another
fellow Slytherin joined in. It was one that Pansy, Harry, and Blaise recognized
but hadn’t really interacted with, Theodore Nott. Theodore Nott was the son of
Andrew Nott, deceased, and grandson of Samuel Nott, current Lord Nott.
Interesting enough, that made Harry recall one of his political lessons with
his mother. She explained that the Wizengamot is split into three relatively
equal sects in order to call for equality. It was split into the Light Sect,
the Gray Sect, and the Dark Sect. House Potter was part of the Light Sect and
House Skeeter was part of the Gray Sect whereas House Nott was part of the Dark
Sect. Harry had to know this when he took up his Lordships as it would prevent
him from committing political suicide. Anyways, after breakfast had finished
they all headed to their first class, Transfiguration, which luckily they all
shared as it was a Ravenclaw-Slytherin class. When they entered Aunt Minnie was
nowhere in sight, that is until he spotted the cat on the table. Calmly he sat
down in the front row, his friends following him. Every one of his friends were
confused, including Blaise but that was to be expected since Blaise didn’t know
of Aunt Minnie’s Animagus form. Aunt Minnie refrained from telling children
before they get to Hogwarts. Her explanation was that she wanted to surprised
them when they got to their first Transfiguration class. The only reason Harry
knew was because he was practically raised by her and his mom. Lo and behold
once everyone sat down she transformed back, causing everyone but Harry to
gasp.
“Welcome class, to your first Transfiguration lesson.” Aunt Minnie, no
Professor McGonagall said, Harry really needed to get used to calling her that
in public.
“My name is Minerva McGonagall but you will call me either Professor or
Professor McGonagall.” She said, getting nods from the students.
“Transfiguration is the magical art of changing one object’s being into
another. For your first few years at Hogwarts you will only be attempting
Inanimate Transfiguration. This is because Human Transfiguration is a rather
dangerous subject and without proper practice you can accidentally kill
someone. So with that said I will not tolerate any foolish behaviour in my
class, you understand?” She said with her patented McGonagall stare which made
everyone nod earnestly.
From there she began the lesson, passing out matchboxes. Their task for their
first lesson was to turn a matchstick into a needle. It was rather simple
enough for Harry’s group in the front row. Of course none of them were perfect,
an example being that Pansy’s was a silver-brown, but they still managed it,
earning them five points each for their houses. Slowly the week fell into a
kind of routine after getting used to their classes. History of Magic was an
utter joke as the teacher, Professor Binns, seemed to hold a grudge against
goblins and would only speak of their defeats. Herbology was as good as it
could be, but considering that Harry wasn’t that fond of plants after the
Dursleys he was probably a bit biased. Defense Against the Dark Arts was a joke
as well. Professor Quirrel could not go two seconds without stuttering and
seemed to focus all his attention on teaching how to defend against vampires.
Harry didn’t like Astronomy whatsoever but again Harry was probably biased
because of the fact that it required him to be awake at midnight. Charms was
interesting enough, even if the professor nearly fainted when he said his name.
Soon enough it was Friday and time for his first Potions class. It would have
been on Monday but since the semester started on a Wednesday the first class
was relegated to the Double Potions on Friday.
When they entered the Potions classroom they paired off. Normally this would be
uneven with the addition of Theo but since Hermione was a Ravenclaw she wasn’t
present in the Slytherin-Gryffindor Potions lesson. So Harry paired up with
Pansy and Blaise with Theo. Originally he was going to pair up with Blaise but
Pansy forcefully disagreed, stating that they usually were attached at the hip
so a few hours apart would not hurt them. She then admitted that she also
wanted to take advantage of Harry’s prowess in potions, saying that it’d be
stupid to pair up two perfect potions students. Soon after taking their seats
Professor Snape walked into the room, his cloak billowing. When he reached the
front of the classroom he spun around and addressed the class.
“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking.” He
whispered.
Surprisingly enough, Professor Snape apparently had a talent for drawing
others’ attention as with just that he hooked the students.
“As there is little to no need for foolish wand-waving, some of you will have a
hard time believing this is magic. I don’t expect you to understand the beauty
of a softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of
liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the
senses.” He said before taking a pause.
“I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death. That is if
you aren’t the usual dunderheads I have to teach.” He finished with a sneer.
Harry like everyone else was hooked on to Professor Snape’s words that he
barely didn’t hear the next question.
“Potter-Skeeter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an
infusion of wormwood?” Snape asked.
Oh, Harry remembered this one. Despite also hearing about it in a book he had
also remembered an article his mother did about a year ago. A crazy man had
gone around, dosing people with the potion.
“The Draught of Living Death sir.” Harry said.
“Well, looks like someone did study. Twenty points to Slytherin.” Snape said,
although his eyes showed he was conflicted.
The professor went on and question a Gryffindor by the name of Ronald Weasley
and then Neville. Ronald got his question wrong, which was about where to find
a bezoar. Neville surprisingly got his right, which was about the difference
between monkshood and wolfbane. He even gave the third name for it, Aconite.
“Well, it seems like one of the Gryffindors did study.” Snape said with a
drawl.
From there they started the lesson, which was to brew a simple boil cure. With
Harry’s instructions and Pansy’s precision preparations they managed to brew a
perfect potion. It gave time to look over at Neville. Earlier Neville looked
like he was about to have a heart attack but when Snape offhandedly praised him
his nervousness vanished. Ronald Weasley’s cauldron sadly exploded which earned
him ten points from Gryffindor. After the class ended the group approached the
Professor.
“Professor we have a request for you, Professor Dumbledore said you might be
able to help.” Harry said.
“And what would that be Mr. Potter-Skeeter?” Snape asked, curious.
“Could you possibly brew about fifty-five familia revalare potions? We wish to
test the muggleborns at the school for wizarding ancestry. It’s part of a
theory of Harry’s.” Pansy asked.
“Fifty-five Miss Parkinson? As far as I was aware there are only fifty
muggleborns in the school.” Professor Snape said with an eyebrow raised.
“Yes but Harry here wants to check his mother’s ancestry and the other four are
just in case anyone who has muggleborn parents wish to check.” Blaise said.
“Hmmm, alright then. But, where will Mr. Potter-Skeeter publish the results.”
Snape asked.
“I have a standing agreement with my mother that if any research I do is good
enough to get published and is approved by a Master of the subject she will get
it published in the Daily Prophet’s academia section or if it’s big enough to
warrant immediate attention then the front page.” Harry said.
“Ah very well. If you are willing to wait about an hour, then it’ll be done.”
Professor Snape said.
“Oh yeah, Professor Dumbledore told us to let him know when the potions are
done so he can alert the muggleborns.” Harry said.
“Dippy!” Snape shouted, causing a pop to sound out and a small creature, which
Harry recognized as a house-elf, to appear.
“Yes Master Snape?” the female elf asked.
“I need you to let the Headmaster to know that the potion will be done in an
hour.” Snape said.
“Right away Master Snape.” The elf said before popping away.
From there Snape led them into his office and then into his personal brewing
lab. The walls were lined with bottled ingredients, a lot of them pretty rare.
In the center of the room were four different cauldrons. One was pewter, the
next copper, then silver, and lastly gold. Harry recalled from his potions book
that certain potions called for different material cauldrons. For example,
Felix Felicis had to be brewed in a golden cauldron because the inherent luck
that there was in gold leaked into the cauldron as one brewed. Another example
is the Wolfsbane Potion, a potion used to give a werewolf control when they
transformed which required a silver cauldron. The reason behind this was that
the silver gave the potion part of its ability to shackle the wolf’s mind.
However, this had a horrible effect of making it so that werewolves could not
brew it themselves without considerable agony. Thus werewolves had to rely on
friends to brew it for them, which considering the fact that werewolves are
pariahs made it difficult for them to acquire the potion.
Apparently Snape wasn’t going to use any of those four cauldrons because he
directed his attention to a large cabinet in the back. From the cabinet Snape
brought out a huge pewter cauldron. The Slytherins then watched as Snape
carefully began brewing the potion. His cuts were meticulous, his measurements
exact, and stirred just long enough. Just as he said, an hour later the potion
was done. It had a pitch black color to it, reminiscent of ink, which if Harry
thought about it, was fitting. Snape then casted a spell that Harry didn’t
know, however the effects were instantaneous. Potion bottles were immediately
conjured and filled with the potion and then corked and soon enough there was a
box filled with fifty-five of the potions. He then levitated the box and walked
out of the room, the Slytherins following him. He set the box on his desk and
waved his wand, causing two sets of tables to appear.
“What are the tables for sir?” Pansy asked, causing Snape to raise an eyebrow.
“I’m assuming that you didn’t have a place to do this little experiment of
yours, am I correct?” He asked.
Pansy blushed and nodded.
“Do you have the required parchment?” Snape asked.
“Yes sir, I have it right here.” Harry said, pulling out a small box.
Snape nodded then went to his desk and began to grade papers, summer
assignments Harry suspected. Harry took that to assume that Snape was letting
them handle this on their own. About two minutes later they had tons of people
crowding outside of Snape’s office. Hermione was there too but thankfully she
managed to squeeze through. The four then took charge and ordered the
muggleborns to get in two orderly lines to which they eagerly complied. The
four had decided that Harry and Hermione would be perfect to start them off so
the two walked up to the two tables and each took out a potion, a piece of
parchment, and the knife on the table. Pansy then turned to the crowd.
“Alright, what we’re doing here is using the familia revalare potion. It is a
potion that is normally used by Purebloods to prove their pureblood ancestry.
However today we are using it to prove a theory my friend Harry has. That
theory goes like this. First, it is known that magic cannot appear out of
anywhere. Second, there is no proof that muggles can steal magic. Conclusion,
because of reasons one and two muggleborns cannot exist and thus they must have
wizarding ancestry in their blood.” Pansy said, pacing in front of the crowd.
Some of the older muggleborn students were shocked, mostly because eleven year
olds normally didn’t know the reason and conclusion process of theory-making
let alone the intelligence to make a theory of their own. Of course due to
Harry’s mother’s fame and interviews with other people he had met many
intellectuals over the past years so he had a general idea of theory-making.
Though to be honest his theory had one day just popped into his head, and he
didn’t know why.
“Hermione Granger and Harry Potter here, will be the first to show you how this
works. Hermione here is a muggleborn and Harry here is the son of one. They
will prick their fingers and let a drop of blood go into the potion. They will
then pour the potion onto the parchment which will then reveal their ancestry.
As well as the heirships they hold.” Pansy said.
Harry and Hermione did as Pansy said and when they poured the potion onto the
parchment it glow. The first to show any effect was Hermione’s. It was when her
maternal grandfather was revealed that people gasped because it showed his
birth last name, Avery. To the right of the name, showing as sibling, was
Annabeth Avery, who Harry recognized as the current Lady Avery. Harry briefly
had the thought that this would make Hermione Heiress Avery since Lady Avery’s
son was dead and her grandson was currently in Azkaban which unless he was
proved innocent, which Harry doubted, would be unable to claim his Lordship. Lo
and behold at the bottom of the paper it said Heiress Avery. Harry’s however
when it revealed was shocking because of the first thing on the list.
Mother – Lily Marie Evans nee Potter
Father – James Charlus Potter
Blood and Magical Adopted Father – Sirius Orion Black
Magical Adopted Mother – Rita Sarah Skeeter
Heir Potter/Peverell, Heir Slytherin, Heir Black, Heir Skeeter
Immediately after that names were appearing on the paper, Harry offhandedly
noticing his mother was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin through Martha
Steward II, a daughter of Isolt Sayre.
“B-but that can’t be.” Pansy and Blaise muttered.
“What can’t be?” Hermione asked.
“Sirius Black cannot be Harry’s blood and magical adopted father.” Pansy said.
“Why?” Hermione asked.
“Because Miss Granger, if that were so then he should by all accounts be dead
by betraying the Potters. For in the magical world a parent cannot harm their
child for their magic would kill them.” Snape said, walking up behind them.
“If it is true then that means he’s innocent.” Harry muttered, his mother was
going to have a field day with this.
“Mr. Potter-Skeeter I am going to let the Headmaster know, would you like me to
alert your mother?” Snape asked.
“Yes sir.” Harry said.
With that Professor Snape vanished into the floo that was in the corner of the
room, Harry not noticing it really until now.
“You do realize you’ll have to pick one last name to stick with formally now?
So your name doesn’t become a mouthful.” Pansy said.
Harry just grunted, kinda shocked by the entire thing. He then waved them off,
basically telling them to go on with the experiment, to which they did. Harry
then turned his thoughts inward. Pansy was correct. When a person held more
than two Heirships they were obliged to pick one House to be tacked onto their
name for vocal matters. While Harry would love to stick with Skeeter it would
be practical political suicide as one usually picked the oldest name for vocal
purposes. For that it’d be the Slytherin title after that was Peverell which
gained fame around the twelve-hundreds followed by the Potter and then the
Black and then Skeeter. Since Skeeter was the youngest of the titles it would
be as if he was snubbing all the others if he picked it above everything else.
Thankfully Harry knew that his mother wouldn’t mind at all. Harry’s next
thought was that he was going to revert the Potter family back to Peverell that
way he wouldn’t have to be Harry James Slytherin Peverell Potter Black Skeeter.
The less names he had to write the better honestly. Minutes later the floo lit
aflame once more and out came four people; Snape, Harry’s mother, Dumbledore,
and Amelia Bones, a person Harry recognized as head of the Department of
Magical Law Enforcement, also known as the DMLE. Dumbledore, Harry noticed,
didn’t have the characteristic twinkle in his eyes that was normally present.
His mother had a stern look on her face, the one that she had when she was on
the hunt for the truth. Amelia approached Harry and spoke to him.
“Mr. Potter-Skeeter may I see the parchment?” She asked.
Harry promptly handed over the parchment and Amelia looked over the document,
her eyes widening.
“Well, looks like a grave injustice has incurred.” She said with a sigh before
she turned to Dumbledore.
“Albus did anyone ever think to bring up a blood test during Mr. Black’s
trial?” Amelia asked.
Dumbledore seemed to be thinking for a moment before his eyes widened a tiny
bit and the word that nobody ever expected him to say came out of his mouth.
“Shit.” He said before dropping himself into a chair.
“Albus!” Amelia chastised.
“I’m sorry Amelia. So much was happening in the period of those four days. I
however cannot recall Sirius Black ever getting a trial. It must have slipped
my mind.” Dumbledore said.
From Dumbledore’s words you could practically taste the regret in the air.
“Albus, despite the fact that you were Chief of the Wizengamot at the time, it
is not your fault but rather my predecessor’s.” Amelia said.
Amelia was speaking of the fact that it was not the priority of the Chief of
the Wizengamot to set up the trials. No, that was the job of the Head of the
DMLE.
“Please tell me that you are going to rectify this?” Harry’s mother asked.
“Of course! The fact that there is a possibly innocent man in Azkaban is
grounds enough to demand a trial. Let’s not even forget that if Mr. Black
really didn’t get a trial then he’s Lord Black. The fact that a Lord did not
get a trial will cause an uproar.” Amelia said.
“So… I might actually end up having a father?” Harry asked tentatively.
“Yes Harry,” Rita said with a smile before turning to the commotion of people
behind them.
“So little one what’s going on here?” Rita asked.
“Oh! I’m testing my muggleborn theory and my friends are helping me.” Harry
said before Pansy promptly ran up to him with an armful of papers and a big
smile.
“Harry! They’re all done and guess what! Every single muggleborn is a
descendant of a magical family.” Pansy said causing the adults to be shocked.
“Miss Parkinson I’m guessing?” Amelia asked, Pansy nodding.
“I feel like I’m going to regret this question and Albus is as well but… how
many are the descendants of extinct families?” Amelia asked, causing Albus to
pale, realizing what Amelia was talking about.
“About twenty of the muggleborns, twenty-one if you include Hermione here
because of the fact that Lady Avery does not have anyone to take up the Avery
title when she dies.” Pansy said.
“My god.” Amelia said.
“What’s wrong with that?” Harry asked, causing his mother to sigh.
“I have been slacking when it comes to your political studies haven’t I? Son,
if they’re descendants of extinct families they can claim the title and gain
the locked seats on the Wizengamot. That’s going to cause an uproar because
that’s twenty seats that are unaligned with anyone’s views. Hermione here isn’t
counted because she still has a chance to be convinced over to Lady Avery’s
side. Although there is the political problem with your inheritance son.” Rita
said.
“What political problem?” Harry asked, confused before realizing what she
meant.
“You mean the Sect Alignment?” Harry asked.
“Yes, the Slytherin Family is a Gray Sect aligned family, Black, a Dark Sect
aligned family, Peverell is Dark Sect aligned, Potter is Light Sect aligned,
and Skeeter is Light sect aligned. The fact that you have one gray, two dark,
and possibly only one light if you choose to absolve the Potter family, it’s
going to be difficult to maintain alliances. Of course you could always choose
to be a neutral party.” Rita said, saying the last part offhandedly.
Rita’s knowledge in politics came from the fact that in order to become a
reporter you need a mastery in two subjects. Rita chose Politics/Law and
Magical Theory. Magical Theory was a carte blanche Mastery that allowed one as
a reporter to talk about all the magical subjects and not be called out for not
knowing it. Harry had a general idea of what two Masteries he wanted to take
but a Mastery required an Apprenticeship. Apprenticeships took a while to
complete but thankfully could be started as young as eleven. To be completely
honest Harry already had an idea for his first Apprenticeship but he had to ask
Snape. If Harry wanted to be honest with himself, he actually wanted to three
Masteries; Potions, Healing, and Politics/Law. His fascination with the first
two actually had a similar reason to his fascination with reporting, his
mother. But instead it was his biological mother that was the reason. Rita had
regaled Harry with stories of his mother who was brilliant in Potions and later
became a Healer for the small time that she was an adult. But that’s all beside
the point, Harry’s thoughts were getting distracted so he turned his attention
back to his mother who seemed to have just started explaining neutral parties.
“Neutral parties are those in Wizengamot who hold, like Harry, seats that have
countering views. They are parties whom can be approached by any of the Sects
to pitch their viewpoint. If the neutral party agrees then they have earned
their votes. I must warn you though son, this comes with a lot of people
attempting to kiss your ass, excuse my language.” Rita said.
“I guess if it’s the best path then.” Harry said.
“It probably is, but you really don’t have to worry about it till you’re
fourteen. That’s when you’re supposed to start taking interest into your
Lordships.” Rita assured him.
After that Amelia asked if she could get a copy of Harry’s tree. Harry nodded
and his mother casted a spell that caused the parchment to double. After that
was done the adults headed off through the floo, Harry’s mother telling him
that they’d find out everything tomorrow.
“Oh mother! Are you going to post my results in the paper?” Harry asked.
“Yes little one. It’ll be on tomorrow’s front page as well.” Rita said.
With that Rita left and everyone gathered up their things and headed off to
bed. Overall today was a very productive day for Harry. The next day the entire
school was stunned into shock with the arrival of the Daily Prophet.
Sirius Black Found Innocent! Peter Pettigrew Still Alive! Bellatrix Lestrange
and Rodolphus Lestrange Found Innocent As Well!
Hello my readers, yesterday I as well as a few others found us stunned and
shocked when it was revealed that my son is the designated heir of Sirius Black
thus heir to House Black through blood and magical adoption. But how could this
be? If this was true, then Sirius Black should have been struck dead by his
magic the second that he betrayed the Potters. So our venerated Head of the
DMLE, Amelia Bones sought to rectify that. She went to go find the court
records and found that there were none. Sirius Black was never given a trial!
Instantly Madam Bones went to Azkaban to retrieve Sirius Black and then
questioned him under Veritatonicus. For those who do not know, Veritatonicus is
a potion that is only useable by the DMLE. It is stronger than Vertiaserum to
the point that there is no way that the person can lie. Thankfully the recipe
for the potion is under lock and key. Under the potion’s influence it was
revealed that Sirius Black was in fact not the Secret Keeper rather it was
Peter Pettigrew. Further questioning revealed that it was also Peter Pettigrew
who murdered the twelve muggles that fateful night. Immediately after that our
Minister, Cornelius Fudge gave Black a pardon and put the old Minister,
Millicent Bagnold and the old Head of DMLE, Bartemius Crouch on trial. It was
found out that together they put many people in Azkaban without trials. Even
moreso it was found that Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband, Rodolphus
Lestrange were innocent of their many crimes and were under a Confundus Potion
by her husband’s brother. Further questioning revealed that Crouch had also
snuck his son out of Azkaban by polyjuicing his wife into his son and kept him
at the manor. Millicent Bagnold was given thirty years in Azkaban and Crouch
was given life.
Harry then looked down to the next article on the front page.
Muggleborns Do Not Exist! Actually Are Descendants of Cast Out Squibs!
By Harry Slytherin
Hello readers, you may know me as the son of Rita Skeeter. Today I completed an
experiment with the fifty muggleborn of Hogwarts as well as myself. The basis
of this experiment was the theory that magic cannot appear out of nowhere as
well as the theory that muggles cannot steal magic. Using those two facts my
hypothesis came to the conclusion that it is impossible for the term muggleborn
to exist. So today I tested myself as well as the fifty muggleborns with the
familia revalare potion, also known as the Lineage Potion. It was then revealed
that every single one of the muggleborns were descendants of a magical family.
In fact, my mother was the descendant of the squib daughter of Isolt Sayre,
Founder of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who was in turn a
descendant of Salazar Slytherin. My friend Hermione is the grandniece of Lady
Avery, who turns out had a squib brother. Along with that twenty muggleborns
were revealed to be descendants of thought to be extinct families, thus
unlocking twenty seats on the Wizengamot. With the fact that every one of the
muggleborns were descendants it means that my theory was true because it cannot
be a coincidence. This means the appearance of muggleborns is the fault of the
Wizarding Community. We cast out the Squibs because of their lack of magic but
that ends up allowing the magic to later reappear down the line. So I advise
any ‘muggleborns’ to have their heritage tested at Gringotts.
After reading the article Harry looked around and saw many of the purebloods
with wide eyes. Immediately after that Harry saw a letter being delivered to
Hermione. Hermione turned to him and mouthed ‘Lady Avery’ to him, making him
nod. It appears that Hermione had gotten a letter from Lady Avery. After
breakfast Harry headed off to class ready for the day.
Chapter End Notes
     Thanks for reading! As usual please leave a comment if you can, it
     helps me tweak the story so I can make it better with your
     suggestions. Have a fun weekend!
End Notes
     Alright! First Chapter done! I really loved writing this! I might
     have gotten some ideas for HCM but I’m not entirely sure. I just know
     I’ll attempt to update this as soon as possible. The floating pad and
     quill was an idea from a friend on my Author Facebook, even though
     he’s also my friend on my actual Facebook. I hope you guys enjoy this
     story as I enjoyed writing it.
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